Kat Cendana – Page 15 – Amazing Bible Timeline with World History

Posted on May 10, 2017May 11, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Ahuitzotl, Rule of Aztec Emperor

King Ahuizotl was an Aztec emperor who ruled from 1486 until his death in 1502 which is where he is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History. He was the eighth tlatoani (ruler) and was best remembered as the ruler who expanded the empire’s borders into Guatemala. The years of his reign was considered the Aztec’s golden age.

Emperor Ahuitzotl

King Moctezuma I had many sons. Three of them came to rule the Aztec Empire after his death in 1469. The first son, King Axayatl, ruled for twelve years. His reign as king was not as good as his father’s. The second son, King Tizoc, ruled from 1481. He was regarded as a weak ruler who did not expand the Aztec borders. To compensate for his lack of achievements, he ordered Aztec sculptors to carve stone reliefs that depicted him as a conqueror. It was, however, the past kings who conquered these cities, so his people looked down on him. He was poisoned by the members of his own army five years after he was crowned as king.

Two sons of Moctezuma I were not good kings so the members of the council of elders were not excited to elect another son to lead them. But the youngest, Ahuitzotl, was a renowned warrior who was popular because of his youth and his bravery. So the council decided to crown him as king. Many noblemen, however, were not confident that the new king would be as great as his father. They had no choice except to submit.

Ahuitzotl was crowned as the new Aztec emperor in 1486. Since he was a warrior, he had the solid support of the army behind him. The Great Temple of Huitzilopochtli was finished during the reign of Ahuitzotl although it was his father who started its construction. They celebrated its completion with a great feast that was attended by nobles and commoners alike.

It was said to be one of the greatest celebrations in Aztec history. Four of the most powerful men in the empire led the event. The main attraction was the gruesome human sacrifice in honor of the god Huitzilopochtli. The Aztecs even sacrificed as much as 80,000 captives and slaves within four days. The captives’ hearts were cut out during the ceremony, and their bodies were tossed down the temple stairs afterwards. The people who waited at the foot of the stairs scooped up the blood and spread it on their houses and temples so that their gods would bless them.

Over the years, Ahuitzotl expanded his empire by conquering the cities on the coast of present-day states of Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Chiapas. He also led his army to conquer the state of Guerrero which opened the Pacific trade to the Aztecs. The Aztecs under Ahuitzotl pushed their borders as far south into modern Guatemala. Ahuitzotl reigned over as many as 25 million people during the Aztec Empire’s golden age.

Ahuitzotl fell sick in 1502 after he returned from a war in Oaxaca. He became weak and died in the same year while inaugurating an aqueduct. The popular warrior-king was mourned by his people and was succeeded by Moctezuma II.

References:
Public Domain, Link
Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel. Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. New York: Facts on File, 2006.
Read, Kay Almere, and Jason J. González. Mesoamerican Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Posted on May 9, 2017May 11, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Chimu Culture in Northern Peru, Collapse of

Peru was the home of several civilizations that rose and fell as hundreds of years passed. The Chimu civilization of northern Peru was no different when it fell to the expanding Inca empire in 1470. The collapse of the Chimu Culture in Northern Peru is located on the Biblical Timeline with World History during that time. The Inca expansion ended the 500-year dominance of the Chimu in northern Peru. Its collapse made the Inca people the undisputed masters of Peru in the fifteenth century.

Topa Inca Yupanqui and the Fall of the Chimu

Topa Inca Yupanqui was born in 1440 to the great Inca king Pachacuti and his wife, Mama Anahuarque. He was the youngest of his father’s legitimate sons. The boy was born in his father’s old age. By the time of his birth, the Inca empire had become a prosperous state and had a strong army. Pachacuti, however, felt that there was no need for him to expand the empire, so he passed this responsibility to his son Topa Inca Yupanqui.

chimu_collapse — “Map of the expansion of the Inca Empire under Topa Inca Yupanqui”

In 1463, Topa Inca became his father’s co-emperor, but his father felt that his son still needed to experience warfare to be worthy of the throne. Pachacuti promoted the young warrior as the army’s commander-in-chief. Topa Inca led his army north of Cuzco for his first military conquest. He first conquered the Cañari and the powerful Quitu people of the north, then turned his sights on the equally powerful Chimu civilization of northern Peru. After some resistance, he finally conquered the Chimu Empire in 1470 and resettled Incas in the areas previously held by the Chimor. Unlike other empires, the Incas did not stamp out the Chimu culture. Instead, they used Chimu art styles in their pottery and paintings.

After his son’s successful conquest of the northern tribes, Pachacuti felt that Topa Inca Yapanqui was ready to become the emperor. Pachacuti abdicated in 1471. The new emperor started his reign with a campaign to conquer the Amazon tribes of the east. He also put down a rebellion led by the Omasuyu, Lupaqa, Pacasa, and Qulla tribes. Topa Inca Yupanqui’s reign was considered as the Inca’s golden age. The empire’s borders at that time stretched from Ecuador in the north and Chile in the south.

References:
Picture: Public Domain, Link
Brundage, Burr Cartwright, and Arnold Toynbee. Empire of the Inca. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1963.
Del_Testa, David W., John Strickland, and Florence Lemoine. Government Leaders, Military Rulers and Political Activists. Westport: Oryx Press, 2001.

Posted on May 8, 2017May 11, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Moctezuma I and His Conquest of Eastern Mexico, Reign of Aztec Emperor

Moctezuma I, also known as Motecuhzoma I Ilhuicamina, was the Aztec’s fifth tlatoani (ruler). He ruled between 1440 and 1469 which is where he is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History. His name means the “Archer of the Sky” and the “Angry Lord” in the Nahua language. During his reign, he led his army in conquering large portions of central and eastern Mexico. His expansionist policy also turned the Aztec state into an empire.

The Emperor of the Aztec Triple Alliance

King Moctezuma I was the grandson of the first Mexica king Acamapichtli. His father was King Huitzilihuitl, and his mother was Queen Miahuaxihuitl. He succeeded his uncle, King Itzcoatl, as ruler of the Mexicas when the king died in 1440. The elders and priests of the Mexicas elected him as the new ruler. They celebrated his accession with a great feast. The people favored him after he gave away some of his wealth to nobles and commoners alike during the feast.

One of the most important people who attended the celebration was Moctezuma’s cousin King Nezahualcoyotl of the city of Texcoco. During the feast, King Nezahualcoyotl asked his cousin to enter into an alliance with him as Texcoco was always invaded by other tribes. Moctezuma agreed to help Texcoco, but he also wanted to keep the Mexica’s fearsome reputation. To make sure that their common enemies would still fear the Mexicas, Moctezuma and his warriors pretended to attack Texcoco. Nezahualcoyotl was in on the secret and he, as well as his people, also pretended to submit to the Mexicas so that they could formalize the alliance. From then on, the city of Texcoco became the Mexica’s independent ally.

aztec_conquest_eastern_mexico — “Map showing the expansion of the Aztec empire showing the areas conquered by the Aztec rulers. The conquests of Moctezuma is marked by the colour pink.”

The Temple of Huitzilopochtli and the War Against the Chalcas

Moctezuma then decided to build a temple for the Mexica’s god Huitzilopochtli, so he ordered his warriors to stop all wars against other tribes. He also required the cities that the Mexica conquered to contribute labor and construction materials to the new temple. The rulers of the other cities agreed. They began the construction of a magnificent temple that took around twelve years to build.

After twelve years, the chief designers of the temple wanted to carve a sculpture of their god. So they told the workers to look for a large stone. But the Valley of Mexico did not have a stone large enough for the statue, while the nearest place where they could get this kind of stone was in the territory of the distant Chalca people. Moctezuma then sent his men to the Lord Cuateotl, the Chalca leader, to request for this kind of stone, plus workers as tributes to Tenochtitlan. Lord Cuateotl was unhappy with Moctezuma’s demands. He replied that he would not send tributes to Tenochtitlan. He also warned the Mexica king that his people were ready to defend themselves if they were attacked by Tenochtitlan.

This reply angered Moctezuma, and he immediately ordered his soldiers to prepare for battle against the Chalcas. They met in a fierce battle, but the Chalcas asked for a five-day rest to worship their god when it looked like that the Mexica would defeat them. Moctezuma agreed to this request, and they, too, worshipped Huitzilopochtli. When they met again, the Mexicas completely defeated the Chalcas in Cocotitlan that they were forced to ask for another reprieve. The Mexicas did not grant their request and instead, Chalca warriors were burned to death, and their hearts were cut out as sacrifices to the god Huitzilopochtli. The Mexicas also conquered the Chalca territory and its people.

Expansion and Death

The Chalcas were not the only ones who bowed down to the Aztecs as they also conquered eastern Mexico which was occupied by the Huastec people, as well as the state of Oaxaca. The Aztec king reigned for thirty years and made the empire very wealthy. He died in 1469 and was succeeded by King Axayacatl.

References:
Picture By enwiki/Maunus – en wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Aztecexpansion.png, Public Domain, Link
Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel. Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. New York: Facts on File, 2006.
Brundage, Burr Cartwright. A Rain of Darts: The Mexica Aztecs. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1972.
Hardoy, Jorge Enrique. Pre-Columbian Cities. New York: Walker, 1973.
Lee, Jongsoo. The Allure of Nezahualcoyotl: Pre-Hispanic History, Religion, and Nahua Poetics. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2008.

Posted on May 5, 2017April 26, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Inca Emperor Viracocha Dies

Two important events marked on the Bible Timeline with World History during the year 1438 for the Inca people. First was their victory in the Inca-Chanca War and second was the death of the doomed Inca Emperor Viracocha. The emperor had abdicated in favor of his son, Inca Cusi Yupanqui after the young hero defeated the Chanca warriors that attacked Cuzco.

The Inca-Chanca War

The Chanca rose to become a powerful group of people in central Peru around the fifteenth century. They were said to be sons and daughters of a lion, and that they came from the Lake Chuqlluqucha region in the Huancavelica Region. Just like the Inca, they also wandered far from their homeland and settled near the Quechua people in southern Peru.

inca_emperor_dies — “The Kingdom of Cusco in 1438, shown in red on the map.”

In the early 1400s, they defeated the Quechua people and pushed south to occupy Andahuaylas. The war drove the Quechua refugees to flee near the city of Cuzco and seek an alliance with the Inca. Meanwhile, the Chanca people strengthened and gathered its army in preparation for the war against the Inca. Finally in 1438, the Chanca army led by Hastu Huaraca and Tomay Huaraca crossed the Apurimac River to reach the Inca territory. They also carried with them the mummy of their ancestor Uscovila in hopes that he would bring them victory.

When they arrived near the city of Cuzco, they immediately sent envoys to the elderly Inca king Viracocha to demand his city’s submission. Perhaps he had no fight left in him as Viracocha responded by fleeing with his heir Urcon and some Inca nobles to his villa far from Cuzco. His two other sons had no choice but to lead the defense of the city. One son, in particular, rose to become the hero of Cuzco and this was Inca Cusi Yupanqui. He enlisted the help of allied peoples such as the Cotapampas, Quechuas, and Aymaras to defend Cuzco from the Chanca army.

When they met in battle, the Inca army under Inca Cusi Yupanqui defeated the Chancas and drove them back across the Apurimac River. Now that the city was safe, Inca Cusi Yupanqui killed his brother and his father’s heir Urcon so he could be proclaimed as the new king. He also convinced his father to give up the crown and proclaim him as the new king. Viracocha had no choice but to give up the kingship and in 1438, he crowned his son and gave him the title “Pachacuti.” Viracocha was treated kindly by his son afterwards. The elderly former king was allowed to return to his favorite villa until he died there in the same year.

References:
Public Domain, Link
Brundage, Burr Cartwright, and Arnold Toynbee. Empire of the Inca. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1963.
Julien, Catherine J. Reading Inca History. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2000.
McEwan, Gordon Francis. The Incas: New Perspectives. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2006.
Steele, Paul R., and Catherine J. Allen. Handbook of Inca Mythology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2004.

Posted on May 4, 2017April 26, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Viracocha Becomes Eighth Inca Ruler

Viracocha became the eighth Inca ruler around 1410. He is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Poster with World History at 1390 AD. From the Incan city of Cuzco, he expanded the empire’s border and even pushed south into the Lake Titicaca region. He took his name from the Incan creator god Viracocha after he appeared to the king in a vision. He abdicated in favor of his son Pachacuti after he fled from an enemy attack on the city of Cuzco.

The Sapa Inca

Before he adopted the name Viracocha, the eight Inca ruler was named Hatun Topa Inca or High Royal Inca. He was the youngest son of Yawar Waqaq whose reign was marked by many rebellions. His father and a brother named Pahuac Gualpa was killed by members of his own army because of his unpopularity. After the king was killed, the council of elders elected the young prince Hatun Topa as Sapa Inca (The Great Lord) around 1410.

Hatun Topa Inca started his reign by conquering the town of Calca and parts of the Urubamba Valley. He captured the eastern part of the Cuzco Valley and folded into his realm the Muyna and Pinagua people. After their capture, the Inca army was free to push south and conquer the Canchos. Hatun Topa Inca and his army even reached the Titicaca Basin, but they were not successful in conquering the Qulla people who lived there. He was forced to sue for peace and had to return to Cuzco.

He stayed at the Temple of Viracocha in Raqchi when he returned from war. It was said that he received a vision from Viracocha himself that was why he adopted the god’s name in addition to his title as Inca or Lord.

Flight and Humiliation

The rest of his reign was just as rough as his father’s as his relatives were unhappy with his promotion as the king of their people. He also elevated Viracocha as the most important among the Inca gods and this act did not sit well with the followers of Inti, the Peruvian sun god.

In 1438, the Chanca people rose up and threatened to attack the city of Cuzco. The Chanca army’s strength was equal to that of the Inca, so in his fear, Viracocha and his heir fled to his favorite villa located far from the city. Two of his sons, however, remained in Cuzco and led the defense of the city. They defeated the Chanca army, and their heroic efforts (and Viracocha’s escape) spelled the end of the king’s reign. Viracocha was later forced to abdicate as the Inca king. His heir, whom he escaped with, was killed by his own brother. Inca Cusi Yupanqui, one of his sons who led the defense of Cuzco, was proclaimed as the new Sapa Inca by his generals. He later adopted the name Pachacuti Inca and went on to become the Inca’s greatest king.

Posted on May 3, 2017April 26, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Aztec City of Tenochtitlan Built on an Island in Lake Texcoco

The Aztec city of Tenochtitlan was built on an island in Lake Texcoco in 1325 where it is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History. It was one of ancient Mesoamerica’s greatest and most impressive cities until it was sacked by the Spanish soldiers led by Hernan Cortes. The Spaniards later drained the lake because of massive flooding and built the modern Mexico City on the place where the great Tenochtitlan once stood. The ancient city was largely forgotten, until on the 21st of February 1978 some electricians accidentally uncovered a part of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan Aztec.

The Migration of the Mexica People

In the early twelfth century, a group of people left their homeland in the mythical place of Aztlan and travelled south into what is now modern Mexico City. Aztlan means “Land of the White Herons” or “Place of Whiteness” in Nahua language; it was also the mythical island located inside a lake in northwestern Mexico. On the way to the Valley of Mexico, the migrants were divided into seven tribes who lived temporarily in seven caves called Chicomoztoc. These seven tribes included the Tlahuica, Xochimilca, Tepaneca, Acolhua, Chalca, and Mexica. All the other people left the caves of Chicomoztoc first, but the last ones to leave were the members of the Mexica who later founded the city of Tenochtitlan.

The war god Huitzilopochtli was said to have summoned the Mexica out of the cave and into their land. The Mesoamerican god of war and human sacrifice also gave these people his other name which was Mexitl. The Mexica arrived in the Valley of Mexico in early 1300, but many groups of people already lived there. They had to move from one place to another until the people of Colhuacan allowed them to stay in their city.

They worked as peasants for the people of Colhuacan and slowly gained their trust. The people of Colhuacan were so happy with them that they even gave their own princess for the Mexica chief to marry in 1313. The Mexica were so violent that they killed her in hopes of turning her into a war goddess. Their horrified masters became angry for the murder of their princess, so they drove the Mexica out of their city.

Foundation of Tenochtitlan and the Creation of the Aztec (Triple Alliance)

They travelled again around the Valley of Mexico until they came upon the islands on the western shore of Lake Texcoco. The group split into two and each group built separate settlements in the lake. First was the Tenochtitlan group who built their city on the lake in 1325. The second group named themselves Tlalelco. They settled on an island north of Tenochtitlan. The water between the two settlements later receded so that the two islands became one.

In 1367, the Mexica of Tenochtitlan became hired soldiers for King Tezozomoc Yacateteltetl of the neighboring city of Azcapotzalco. Together they conquered the other tribes in the Valley of Mexico and ruled the people in the years that followed. Nine years later, the Mexica became more powerful through their first king Acamapichtli. They defeated other tribes and became the sole dominating force in the Valley of Mexico. They formed the Triple Alliance with the neighboring city-states of Texcoco and Tlacopan. This powerful alliance was later called the “Aztec” in the Nahua language.

References:
Picutre By Hanns Prem – Own work, Public Domain, Link
Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel. Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007.
Carrasco, David. The Aztecs: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011.

Posted on May 2, 2017April 26, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Acamapichtli Chosen as King of Aztecs

King Acamapichtli was chosen as the king of the Aztecs (Mexica) in the 1370s where he is recorded on the Bible Timeline with World History. He then started to rule the city of Tenochtitlan around 1375/1376. The Mexicas built the city of Tenochtitlan in 1325. However, they were still far from independent under the powerful Tepanec overlords. Acamapichtli was the first Mexica king that ruled while they were under Tepanec domination.

The Establishment of Aztec City of Tenochtitlan 1325

After leaving their mythical homeland of Aztlan and the seven caves of Chicomoztoc, the Mexica had no choice but to wander in the Valley of Mexico. Since they did not have a land of their own, they served the Colhua people as peasants. The two tribes were on good terms until the Mexica chief asked for the hand of a Colhua princess in marriage. The Colhua king agreed to arrange the marriage of his daughter to the Mexica chief. However, instead of a wedding ceremony, the Mexicas dragged the princess into their temple and killed her in hopes of turning her into a war goddess.
The Mexica priest then took her skin and wore it during the ceremony. They invited the Colhua bride’s father in the ceremony, and there he saw what they had done to his daughter. In their anger, the Colhua people attacked the Mexica and drove them off their land. Landless once again, the Mexica wandered in the Valley of Mexico until they came to an uninhabited island on the shore of Lake Texcoco. There they built their city of Tenochtitlan in 1325 and at last, they had a land to call their own.

acamapichtli_the_first_aztec_king — “Acamapichtli as depicted in the Tovar Codex.”

Acamapichtli Mexica’s First King

The Mexica remained as hunters and gatherers even after they built the city of Tenochtitlan. They later farmed the land using the chinampa system and traded with neighboring towns. They lived near the powerful kingdom of the Azcapotzalco, but its Tepanec citizens did not like the Mexicas. One day, the Tepanecs asked their King Tezozomoc to impose heavy taxes on the Mexica traders after they saw that they had flourished. He listened to their suggestion and ordered the Mexica to pay higher taxes. The payment of heavy taxes took a heavy toll on the Mexica until they could no longer bear it. They sent some men to the Tepanec King Tezozomoc for him to lower their taxes. The request only angered the king. He increased the taxes the Mexicas needed to pay as part of their punishment.

They were still fresh from their defeat from the Colhua people, so the Mexicas had no other choice but to submit. The Mexicas waited for the right time and built alliances through marriage with other tribes. In this way, their people increased and expanded their territory. Priests and wise elders ruled the Mexicas during that time, but they realized that they needed a king to lead them. The council of elders met and decided that they should look for a brave young man from their own people to be their king.

Years before the elders came to this agreement, a Mexica captain named Opochtzin Iztahuatzin lived to Colhuacan and married a princess named Atotoztli. The princess gave birth to their son, and they named him Acamapichtli. The boy grew up to be a handsome and brave warrior whose courage impressed his Mexica elders. They decided that he was fit to lead their people, so they sent some men to his cousin, the King Teuchtlamacazque Nauhyolth of Colhuacan. They asked the king to send his cousin back with them to Tenochtitlan so he could be their king. King Teuchtlamacazque could not give them his permission as his cousin was not in his palace anymore.

He sent them instead to King Acolmiztli who was the ruler of the neighboring Coatl Ichan. His sister, Queen Ilancueitl, had taken Acamapichtli to their city and educated the young man there. When King Acolmiztli heard of the envoys’ request, he immediately gave them Acamapichtli so he could be proclaimed as their king. Acamapichtli also married Queen Ilancueitl, and he started to rule as their king in 1375/1376. Queen Ilancueitl and Acamapichtli did not have children, so he took eight wives with whom he had sons and daughters. His sons included Huitzilihuitl, Itzcoatl, Cuatlacuatl, Tlacahuepan, Tlatolzaca, Epcoatl Ilhuitemoc, and Tlacocochtoc.

The years of Acamapitchli’s reign were peaceful and prosperous. He chose to build alliances through marriages instead of fighting other tribes. He also chose to pay the Tepanec king Tezozomoc the tribute he demanded so that his people could avoid wars. He died in 1395 at the age of 70.

References:
References By Tovar, Juan de, circa 1546-circa 1626 – http://dl.wdl.org/6718.pngGallery: http://www.wdl.org/en/item/6718/, Public Domain, Link
Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel. Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. New York: Facts on File, 2006.
Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin, Domingo Francisco De San Antón Muñón. Codex Chimalpahin: Society and Politics in Mexico Tenochtitlan, Tlatelolco, Texcoco, Culhuacan, and Other Nahua Altepetl in Central Mexico: The Nahuatl and Spanish Annals and Accounts Collected and Recorded by Don Domingo De San Antón Muñón Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin. Translated by Arthur J. O. Anderson and Susan Schroeder. Vol. 1. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.

Posted on May 1, 2017April 26, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Incas Expand to the Central Andes

After they established their kingdom in the city of Cuzco, the Incas quickly expanded within the Central Andes around 1300 which is where it is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Poster with World History. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Incas created alliances with neighboring peoples and sent out their armies to expand their territory. Because of the rapid expansion, the Inca Empire at its peak extended from present-day Quito in Ecuador in the north and into Santiago in Chile in the south.

The Children of the Sun

In the beginning, it is said that the Sun God Inti saw that the humans quarrelled among themselves and that sometimes they ate human flesh. The Sun God, along with the Creator God Viracocha, decided to create the siblings Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo so they could try and civilize the people. They created the couple along with their brothers and sisters either in Pacariqtambo or in Lake Titicaca. Although they had siblings, the couple were the ones who ruled the first Incas.

They emerged out of the cave where they were created and travelled north to find the place where they should live. Before they left, the gods gave Manco Capac a golden staff so he could test whether the place was fit for them to live in. When they arrived in the Cuzco Valley, the golden staff sank on the ground which meant that it was their promised land. The Incas built their first city on the place where the staff sank and then called it Cuzco.

Inca Expansion

The Inca came up with a centralized form of government around 1200. They were ruled by a very powerful king. In the native Quechua language, their kingdom was called Tawantinsuyu or “The Four Quarters United.” By 1300, the Incas had formed alliances with neighboring peoples, but they did not hesitate to use violence or intimidation if the tribes within the Valley of Cuzco did not submit to them.

In 1350, they started to expand outside the Valley of Cuzco. They folded into their empire the areas around the Lake Titicaca. Around this time, they conquered the areas east of the Valley of Cuzco. They also ventured north and conquered the areas along the Urubamba River. The Inca army later invaded the Apurimac River area and built a suspension bridge that allowed them to cross the canyon leading up to the city of Andahuaylas. Then they ventured further west and conquered the war-like Chanka people.

References:
Picture By Bryan Dougherty from New York City, USA – Apurimac River, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Cremin, Aedeen, ed. The World Encyclopedia of Archaeology. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly Books, 2012.
Doty, William G. Myth: A Handbook. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2004.
Von Hagen, Victor W., INCAS., Vol. 12, Colliers Encyclopedia CD-ROM, 02-28-1996.

Posted on April 28, 2017April 26, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Wang Anshi, State socialism (Scheme) by

Driven by his concern for the poverty-stricken peasants, the eleventh-century bureaucrat Wang Anshi pioneered state reforms to improve their lives during the reign of the Song Dynasty. His life and his groundbreaking socialist reforms were chronicled in the Bible Timeline Poster with World History between his birth in AD 1021 and until his death in 1086.

Early Life: A Portrait of a Bureaucrat

Wang Anshi was a Chinese poet, essayist, philosopher, and bureaucrat who tried to implement sweeping and radical reforms in Song Dynasty China. He was born in 1021 in the city of Linchuan, Jiangxi Province. Although his father worked as a government worker, he remained in a low clerical post as he did not pass the civil service exams. Wang Anshi passed the civil service exams with flying colors by ranking fourth overall in 1042 and served in the local government of the Jiangnan region (which Jiangxi was part of) afterward.

This experience allowed him to observe the problems the peasants and local administrators encountered with the Song bureaucracy, such as the heavy taxes imposed upon the peasants and the exploitation they experienced under the rich landowners and corrupt (as well as inept) government officials.

He was unable to do anything about the issues he noticed, so he started to write essays and poems about the injustice the peasants experienced. Wang Anshi’s essays and poems later reached the Song capital of Kaifeng. The central government officials offered him a promotion after they read about his insights. For unknown reasons, however, he declined these offers many times. In 1059/1060, he returned to the capital and worked for the Finance Commission; he also submitted to then Emperor Renzong his “Ten Thousand Word Memorial” (Wanyan Shu) which contained his insights on the Song government’s shortcomings.

For Wang Anshi, the Song bureaucracy lacked talented men who were supposed to fill in the administrative posts. He suggested that the government itself invest in the cultivation of talented young men who would serve the people, appoint them based on individual competence, and provide evaluations on their performance. The reforms he suggested were ignored by the Song administrators for some years. Emperor Yingzong (Renzong’s successor) also died in 1067, so that Wang Anshi was largely forgotten thereafter. He also took some time off to grieve for his mother who died in the same year, but a year later, the new Emperor Shengzong summoned him to work at the elite Hanlin Academy. He later met Emperor Shengzong and impressed him enough that he attained a high administrative post in the central government as a Chief Councillor.

Wang Anshi did not go without his share of enemies. Some of the most formidable were conservatives Ouyang Xiu, Sima Guang, and Su Dongpo. He finally fell out of favor in 1074 when his reform programs did not work out. He left the palace in the same year to settle in Jiangning. Emperor Shengzong died in 1085. His death was followed by Wang Anshi one year later.

Wang Anshi’s Reforms

Wang Anshi formulated political and economic reforms during the reign of Emperor Shengzong which included:

Low-interest loan (also called the “Green Shoots loan”) grants to poverty-stricken peasants that would prevent them from taking out high-interest ones from private lenders and loan sharks. He also suggested this loan program to the emperor in order to help raise government revenues that the government officials would collect after a given time. This loan program, however, backfired when drought set in and ruined the crops which made the farmers unable to pay their debts and the taxes they owed the government. Wang Anshi’s situation worsened when the government failed to stop the officials who were in charge of revenue collection from charging higher interest rates.
The implementation of a land survey to compute the tax a peasant should pay based on his land’s actual production.
The decree that the peasants should pay money for taxes instead of unpaid labor (corvée).
The decree that the number of professional soldiers in service of the Song be reduced to save the government money and the establishment of the baojia system (the use of community-based law enforcement officers).
The launch of a public school system which aimed to educate the children of the poor.
The transformation of the civil service exams from tests on the memorization of poetry (which was deemed useless and impractical by Wang Anshi) to more practical tests on government and economic affairs.

References:
Picture by Public Domain, Link
Chang, Kang-i Sun, and Stephen Owen. The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature. Vol. 1. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
China’s Economic Future: Challenges to U.S. Policy. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1997.
Fairbank, John King, and Merle Goodman. China: A New History. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992.
Grousset, René. The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1970.
Mote, Frederick W. Imperial China, 900-1800. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999.
Ropp, Paul S. China in World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Posted on April 27, 2017April 26, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Gunpowder Used

Apart from the movable type printing method and the magnetic compass, gunpowder was one of the most important discoveries during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Its first use was chronicled on the Bible Timeline Poster with World History between AD 1100 and 1200. The Taoists of ancient China were accomplished alchemists. It was in their records that the chemical compounds of gunpowder (potassium nitrate and sulfur) were first mentioned. Saltpeter (potassium nitrate) and sulfur were first used in connection with an elixir for longevity during the Han dynasty. It was Taoist philosopher Ge Hong who first recorded experiments using saltpeter and sulfur which resulted in an explosion.

The Triple Invasion of Song China and the First Mention of Gunpowder

China’s peace and prosperity during the late tenth and early eleventh centuries were hammered out after a humiliating peace treaty with the powerful Khitan Liao ruler whose territory bounded the Song’s north frontier. The Song emperor was forced to recognize the Liao ruler as its equal in the Chanyuan Treaty of 1005 and had to pay 200,000 bolts of silk and a large amount of silver to the Liao as annual tribute. As long as their Khitan neighbors were pacified, the Song Dynasty was free to turn China into an economic powerhouse. The Confucian distaste for violence (as well as the warrior class) and the peace brought by the Chanyuan Treaty lulled the Song into a false sense of security. This resulted in the central government’s neglect of the military.

The Song, however, would be jolted out of its complacency thirty years later when its neighbor, the Tanguts of the Kingdom of Western Xia (Xi Xia), rose and attacked China’s western frontier in 1038. The Tanguts occupied a large portion of former Song territories. To keep them from invading deeper into China, Emperor Renzong was forced to negotiate for peace and agreed to pay a hefty annual tribute to the Western Xia.

If the first concession to a “barbarian” neighbor was humiliating enough, then the second concession left a bitter taste in the Song emperor’s mouth. By 1044, he ordered his generals to strengthen the military and compile a collection of the best military strategies for their use. The result was a compendium that was later called the Wujing Zongyao. It contained the first description of an explosive black powder made up of saltpeter, sulfur, and coal that the Song used against its enemies.

Gunpowder was utilized effectively against the Jurchen warriors with the Song use of fire lances and incendiary bombs during the Jin-Song wars. These explosives, however, were later used by the Jurchens against their opponents when they sacked Song cities and captured Chinese alchemists. They were forced to give the enemies the formula for gunpowder. The formula, in turn, was used by the Mongols of the Yuan Dynasty when it conquered both the Great Jin and the Southern Song dynasties in the thirteenth century.

References:
Picture By NASA – http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/rocketry/03.html, Public Domain, Link
Fairbank, John King, and Merle Goodman. China: A New History. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992.
“Firearms.” Accessed October 25, 2016. http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/miltech/firearms.htm.
Mote, Frederick W. Imperial China, 900-1800. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999.
Ropp, Paul S. China in World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.